Ideas for home made burglar alarm

So I got my storage building pretty much complete. I had to wait until October to finish it up due to the heat. Throwing 17" long pieces of roofing tin on top just about killed me.

It doesn't leak either and the floor has always been dry even during hard rains! Only issue is a bit of condensation on the inside of the roof on certain mornings but so far nothing stored in it is getting wet. When it's raining, the inside roof is dry as a bone. My guess is it's where the tin get's hot then the temperature drops and moisture condenses.

I need to properly run an electrical cord to it through a piece of conduit which will go through one wall and into my garage. As of right now I just have an extension cord run around the side of my garage going to my lights and trickle chargers. I'm currently in the process of building a door which will be two doors that will open outward and lock in the middle. I'm making the frame out of some leftover 2X4s and some of the roofing tin. I was going to finish this up this past Friday before I started my night shifts but it rained all day so looks like that will be next week.

Here are some of the latest photos I've enclosed:

So here is my question. Although I have an alarm system on my house and garage, I'm looking for some unique way to scare the crap out of someone if they were to break into this building. I'm assuming they would simply cut the lock off and open the doors.

My idea was to use a safety switch from a lawnmower. Or perhaps a door jam switch from a car. Really I need a switch with a long button like 2 to 3" travel before the switch closes to compensate for wind moving the door. In other words a switch that is not super sensitive. So when the button is pressed it breaks the circuit but when the door opens, the button the switch is decompressed and completes the circuit. Anybody have any suggestions on what kind of switch and what mower to source this from?

I'll make a bracket and the button will touch the inside one of the doors. So if someone cuts the lock off and open the doors, it will close a relay that will power some really load horns. Or wire up my old ghetto blaster with a cassette tape of dogs barking, gun shots, me yelling or something. Maybe some flashing strobe lights.

To arm and disarm the system, I could mount a lighted rocker switch inside my garage next to where I run my electrical cord (and use the same conduit) to switch the system on and off using a 12 volt battery and a trickle charger.

Any of you guys come up with an novel ideas on a homemade burglar alarm?

Another idea would be to connect an ignition coil to the door. Or connect 110 volts to the door itself! That way if someone just touches the door it shocks the crap out of then.

But I'm concerned my daughter might touch the door and I wouldn't want to hurt her. Or really anybody else although I'm not too concerned about someone wanting to steal my stuff I worked hard to buy.

Re: Ideas for home made burglar alarm

OK, don't laugh but back in the 80's I had a shed & it was close to the house I had way back then, I just added a motion light on my house aimed at the shed doors & etc, & run the activation wire into my bedroom, where I hooked it to a loud electric die grinder in a bucket.

Pretty cavemanish, but if the light ever came on, I was instantly awoken by the die grinder. Never had any issues with vandals. But was awoken a few times, & in the dew outside I could see footprints.

Re: Ideas for home made burglar alarm

Originally Posted by 7394

OK, don't laugh but back in the 80's I had a shed & it was close to the house I had way back then, I just added a motion light on my house aimed at the shed doors & etc, & run the activation wire into my bedroom, where I hooked it to a loud electric die grinder in a bucket.

Pretty cavemanish, but if the light ever came on, I was instantly awoken by the die grinder. Never had any issues with vandals. But was awoken a few times, & in the dew outside I could see footprints.

No, it sounds like a good idea. I've heard of people attaching aluminum pie pans to strings and such.

I've never had anybody bother anything around my place but you never know these days with as many pillbillies there are out there. I'm more concerned about someone stealing my ATV more than anything in that building. I wouldn't want anything stolen but I figure if it's something it would be my ATV.

I had a motion detector in my garage but I had the guy from the alarm system disable it and replace it with a door switch. The alarm went off one night at 3 in the morning. When the alarm monitoring company called they asked if I wanted the police to show up and I said yeah because it was the sensor in my garage. When they showed up, I went out there with the police and there was nobody in there. Then it went off again a couple of days later. I figured it was a small bird or a spider setting it off.

The guy told me a small bird would not be enough to set it off but I don't him to replace it with a switch on the door. I was getting tired of being woke up at 3 in the morning.

Re: Ideas for home made burglar alarm

Not sure if this would help. A while back ago I had some problems with cats and other wild critters getting into my garden and destroying plants. I put a motion detector nearby aiming towards the garden. Removed the bulb and put a insert in place to accept a standerd power plug. I plugged it into a relay which activated my irrigation system in the garden and critters fled.

Re: Ideas for home made burglar alarm

i slapped one of these cheap wireless battery motion detectors in my shed...plug in the alarm inside the house in our bedroom...the bedroom is maybe 80 feet from the shed...the sensor is always working and sending a signal to the alarm...the alarm just has 3 settings off (where a light on the alarm box just flashes) beep and siren...only helps if i'm home

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